Contractor claims unpaid $1.6 million for work on AquaBounty’s abandoned Pioneer site.
AquaBounty Farms Ohio has been given until April 10 to respond to a lawsuit alleging it owes nearly $1.6 million to contractor Gilbane Building Co. for work carried out on an abandoned land-based salmon farm in Pioneer, Ohio, according to local newspaper, The Blade.
The genetically modified salmon project was halted in June 2023 before completion. Gilbane filed a civil suit in Williams County Common Pleas Court, claiming AquaBounty failed to pay for materials, labour, and services under a June 2023 contract. A mechanic’s lien for $1,544,662.59 was placed on the site in September, with additional interest and fees bringing the total to $1,597,630.61.
Land-based GMO salmon producer terminates operations as cash runs dry
The facility was to include a recirculating aquaculture system designed by InnovaSea Systems, with involvement from CRB Builders, Dr. Water LLC, and consulting engineers CRB. The project manager was Hill International.
The company, a subsidiary of Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies, has not commented. AquaBounty’s shares were trading at $0.54 on Monday. The firm has until July 15 to meet Nasdaq’s $1 minimum listing requirement.
In recent months, AquaBounty ceased fish-rearing operations, auctioned off equipment at the Pioneer site, and sold its Canadian assets to Kelly Cove Salmon.
The Pioneer development was part of the company’s ambitions to expand production of genetically modified AquAdvantage salmon in the U.S.
